grifballfandomcom-20200213-history
SafeRicky
|- | align="center" | |- | align="center" | |} SafeRicky, known by other players as Ricky to make it faster to refer to, is a def/tank of Johnsons Salty Grifballs,after leaving his position as Second-in-command of Grifball Addicts Anomynous. Started out his Grifball life posing as a hybrid with dreams of running in and scoring, floating over others on his way to the goal, and wanting to just be a bit of everything. But fate had another plan for him. Life as a Grifball Player A Star Is Born Finally gaining access to XBOX LIVE, he posted in the Players searching thread of the Grifball Forum not expecting to get any response; his request stated that he was a rookie with no experience(wont be looked at by serious teams), was from the UK(wouldn't be looked at by most of the league), and that he was a hybrid (doesn't stand out from the other kajillion players of the same position looking for a team). But he had found someone willing to take a chance, a new team set to start for the summer league led by Synister Slave... the GBAA. The team only had one other member at the time, and they were concerned about if they would pull together enough people at that point to be eligible to enter. 'Syn' knew a few more players then he, did being fairly new to the Grifball forum at that point and they found that they frequently played at the same times. It was through this way that eventually he began to play with some bigger players; Death On Call members, freestyle pie, secretryan, the cena's, and the wolf pack. Wanting to show the big-boys what he could do, he tried running with the ball, finding it harder then he had previously expected. But his calling had tried to reach him... He asked some of the other players what they thought he was and they said that he seemed to be a good defender. From then on, he was set on focusing on his defensive skill to better help his new team and eventually becoming a crucial part of the group's structure. The skills he honed began to make him more confident and push into a more aggressive style of defense. He now frequently plays with the likes of Sir Jimmy, clcraven, Stranger 999, xilv and many others from the UK league, usually greeted well by all, either for being nice, or for being funny. Over Before It Began... With the news of the Summer League looming ever closer and Ricky helping his teammates improove their skills, it all seemed to be going well. 'Syn' was going away for a trip and handed over the team to him to control, a move which many seemed to be very supportive about. But on the morning of 28th June, Ricky would find that he would no longer be able to take part in the league... His XBOX360 had fell victim like many before it to 'The Red Ring of Death'. It couldn't have come at a worse time... It would take up to 3 weeks to receive it back from repairs, and as soon as it would be back, he would be going on holiday for the whole of August. Breaking the news to the team was met with support from many of them, as well as concerns about losing such a vital part of their group. Ricky reassured them that even though he wouldnt be playing with them, that he would stick by them and try to help in every way that he could, taking on a role of that of a Chairman. Like A Retarded Phoenix The Techs in Germany worked hard to return the faulty machine back to its owner. 10 days after it had been sent off, it had returned to him alot faster then had been thought; so quickly that he was able to actually play from the start of the season. But all that happiness of taking part wasnt just sweetness and rainbows. Not having the xbox for that length of time had seriously effected his skills. His ranked levels in Lone Wolf and Team Doubles had dropped from 30 down to 27 and 24. It took alot of playing to get back into shape to get them back to where they once were. But it was done at a price. Working hard with a BR made him forget that he should have been practicing for Grifball; a mistake which would later bring him down. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility After playing in the SMC and the RRoD tournaments which took place before the Autumn League was set to start, things had taken a harsh turn for our hero. As second in command of GBAA, he had taken the responsibility to lead the team in the captains absence - although people had started to become more familiar with Ricky, and his popularity started to grow, it was also a bad thing. He was put down as the contact for the RRoD and people began to ask him to schedule matches, and hard as he tried, he couldn't get his team to become organized enough to play. When they did, as a result of not playing more often, they usually didn't do well. It had become too much for him... Ricky could take the losses, but he couldn't take not having a team that was more organized. He had no choice... He left the team, explaining his issues which Synister fully understood. The team was very supportive of him, and others began to see what role he was as part of the team - Xilv, UK Commish, was concerned that his actions were the reason for his departure from the team, and added that he see's how important and respected he was to the team. Ricky left the team when they had 2 games to play in the RRoD tournament which they played with only 2 members and a guest, against 4, as they couldn't get a team on; the exact thing that Ricky was trying to show his old team. Zoidberg11 stepped forward to fill Ricky's shoes as Vice-Captain, in an attempt to keep the team alive, a thing which Ricky didn't seem to like as his departure would have meant nothing is the captain wasn't gonna take the lead as he should. When God Closes A Door... With news spreading round that Ricky had left GBAA, people began to talk - rumors spreading around that GBAA would crumble without him to lead them, but he had to stick by his descision. The fun of the game had gone from his mind, as it had become work, and frustrating to him. He explained that he would not be playing in the autumn league, cause he just wants to relax without having responsibility. People hearing he wouldn't be playing was like blood in the water; many teams commented on what he decided and tried to get him to join them. At first it was just jokingly while playing in little scrims, but eventually Ricky started to get messages. Players that he had built a friendship with started to seriously talk about him joining them, such as JSG, GBOS, and Tri-Star. SecretRyan said that if he didn't join his team, that he should join another one, and not let his talent go to waste. Strangler had said a similar thing, which Ricky explained that he didn't feel good enough anyway to join these sorts of teams, but boosted his confidence by saying that he was. Eventually Strangler came to Ricky, saying that the team had gone to 6 players, and would he like to join them, and that he would be welcomed; this had came only hours after he joined GBOS, which he explained to Ryan (who wasn't too happy to hear the news, but accepted it). Ricky made sure that it was clear it would be for 1 season for now, as he would like to return to GBAA if they can sort themselves out and if JSG didn't want to keep him or that GBAA were fine without him would be great factors in his choice at the end of the season, and this was fine with his friend. With JSG he would practice, maybe play, and all without the stress and strain that was on him at GBAA to organize things; a good place to stay for now.... Job Description As mentioned earlier, Ricky was Second-in-Command, even while unable to play for GBAA. He's not expected to do much other then swing that hammer like a madman. But what makes him so popular was what he does beyond that. He held weekend practices for anyone in the GBAA or GBAA US to attend and helped them work on their skills. He helps out with artwork also, being the creator of the logo for GBAA in the summer league. On the field, besides being a kickass defender, he was also the teams moral booster, often trying to get the team to take-part in karaoke - its not known whether this is just to keep the game fun, or if its to torture the other team as they hear him sing to let them know he isn't serious. He's an ideas man and strategist that is able to find the flaws the team and bring it to their attention so that it was no longer a weakness. His role now is one of less responsibility as a member of JSG Ironically Named Ricky had been questioned about his name many times, many asking him why "Safe"? was it because he was a Chav? well it wasn't that, it was just randomly created by Microsoft to go on the front of his offline GT of Ricky. But the name still is far from suitable. His other nickname is the Death Magnet, and this isn't just a cool name given to him by himself; he earned it. He is so dubbed for two reasons - 1. He has moments where he can be unstoppable and will just kill anything that comes his was, just continuously tanking people who cross his path, and 2. (the more regular reason) anyone close to him suffers a nasty fate of being betrayed accidently. So no one is safe around "Safe". Seasons and Tournaments Summer Season - First Season The lack of practice really brought Ricky down hard. Previously having other teams say he was pretty good, possibly the best member of the team had not come true in the season after the return. The tanking skills had fallen dramatically, making his tendency of dying increase drastically. The betrayals totaled up still, but with not so many kills it really was a terrible season for the star. In friendly games though, the frustration showed itself even more, with him entering foreign territory by telling everyone to leave the ball and grabbing it for himself; a tactic which seemed to came out with many scored explosions. The 3 games that he took part in were all it took to ruin him, unable to play the rest of the season as he had a month long holiday booked, taking him out of the season. By the time he returned, the playoffs had started.... without his team making it through. A rough season for GBAA and for him in particular. He ended his first season with a K/D Spread of -36, 17 betrayals and a 33% batting average. [http://www.freewebs.com/thesargememorialcup/index.htm Sarge's Memorial Cup] This was a tournament which started after the end of the playoffs for the Summer Season, and was an invitational event. 16 of UK's teams were invited to take part in the tournament, teams who were well known, were liked, or had skill. GBAA got the invite and signed up. So Far (as the SMC is still being played); GBAA (2) - JSG (7) ; Ricky had to improvise with this one as it was either get anyone, or forfeit. He had Zoidberg with him, and asked one of his friends to play too, with Freestyle Nick completing the team. Even though they lost, he was commended on taken charge and putting up a good game. He also did a noble thing by telling everyone to stop the game when the other team lost one of their players, then continued when he came back in. GBAA (6) - Sarge's Angels (3) ; This time 'Syn' was there to run the show, so let him focus on his own thing - destroying the opponents. He tanked his way in, stopped the ball... ended up with + 15 K/D, with 42 kills (next highest person was 30).... His game is back, and better then ever GBAA (8) - Epic Fail (1) ; One hell of a wild game... even though it seems like a one sided game, the actual match lasted nearly 20 minutes and was extremely eventful. Ricky managed to tally up over 100 kills in this match, becoming the first player earning one of the rarer achievements, and ended also with a +35 K/D spread. GBAA (1) - JSG (8) ; A disappointing game which was worsened by a great game where GBAA defeated SA in a skrim with the same score. Strangler, post game, informed Ricky that they were nervous about playing their new member for this match, as they thought it was going to be a tough match, so he was confused about the result - this was nice to hear, as it was a sign that some teams had start to take the group a bit more seriously. GBAA (3) - Sarge's Angels (6) ; A game that started off quite well which got progressively harder as each round went on. Ricky managed to steal the bomb and scored the first point of the match, floating over the goal and running it in. Confident with their start they kept pushing and went to 2-0. But something seemed wrong... a cry of a "team of hosts" was going about since nothing seemed to kill the opposition, their reflexes seemed too quick, and they weren't dying from direct hits. SA eventually float all their goals in and defeat GBAA. This match, would go on to result in one of the most controversial issues which was swept away as quickly as possible by the SMC Commish and hoped never brought up again. The league section ended with SafeRicky being one of the players with the most kills overall; 250, averaging to be about 50 kills a game. The only other player to play 5 games was Yoda with 229. # NAME Kills Played Average Team 1. Trunk Monkey - 291 (3) AVG. 84/game Angry Saints 2. SafeRicky - 250 (5) AVG. 50/game GBAA 3. YodaMagicCircus - 229 (5) AVG. 45/game JSG 4. Wolly Wampa - 192 (3) AVG. 64/game Grif-sport Elite 5. Chris1811 - 189 (3) AVG. 63/game Grif-sport Elite Even though he didn't play any more matches in the SMC, he still finished with the 6th highest kills overall. # NAME Kills Played Average Team 1. Trunk Monkey - 355 (4) AVG. 88/game Angry Saints 2. YodaMagicCircus - 342 (8) AVG. 42/game JSG 3. LPH META KNIGHT - 322 (5) AVG. 64/game TFF 4. TOS Macca - 266 (6) AVG. 44/game JSG 5. Stranglet999 - 251 (8) AVG. 31/game JSG 6. SafeRicky - 250 (5) AVG. 50/game GBAA Autumn League - Second Season This season had only one goal; F-U-N... and that was achieved. As a part of JSG this season, he wasn't expecting as many games that had been proposed for him to play in the summer. GBOS (5) - JSG (4); To his surprise he wasn't held back and was put straight into the teams first game against a tough rival, and even though the result was a loss, the team were vary positive about. They said that they hadn't come that close to beating them like that, and it was partly their new recruit that brought them so close. Some good launches created some very good opportunities. TFF (4) - JSG (5); Again, very surprised, Ricky had expected to have been used for an easier game, but his second match was again against one of the toughest teams around. In a very close match, his luck gave them some nice launches, and useful tanking. GBOS (9) - JSG (0); This was a terrible game. With high hopes from their first dust up, this time the lag was unbearable. But the decision for a rematch was denied... oh well. SA (3) - JSG (6); This score was actually from 2 games. The first game was 6-3 to JSG when complaints of a rematch came from SA who stated one of their players was having controller problems. Ricky didn't play too good in this match. Game two was going the same way, Ricky's stats were a lot better but in the 8th Round, Strangler lagged out while they were 6-2 up, meaning the first game would be used. JSG made it through to the playoffs on one of the wild-cards (there were 3 for the highest non-qualifying teams) TFF (5) - JSG (4)Semi-finals; This was a good game. To his surprise, Ricky got the first score in style by launching over their heads. It was a close game, going back and forth till 3-2, when people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even though Ricky's Stats seemed quite bad, finishing the season with now -76 K/D, 29 betrayals (12 in 5 games as opposed to 17 in 3), and only a 36% batting avg (+3%), he is seen as a player to be concerned about for some reason. His playing in the season unfortunately didn't reflect the way he played in scrims. Remember, Remember... This section is for moments that will not be forgotten, by one or by many. One of the most controversial moment involving Ricky must be in the SMC after the GBSML08. Following GBAA's last match ending in a defeat against SA, They were 2 wins, 3 losses compared to 2 wins and 2 losses of SA. SA's last two games were to be against Epic Fail, a team that had vanished without a trace... this would mean SA would take forfeits against them. Ricky congratulated them on beating them and getting second, preparing to finish in 3rd. But upon this, it was brought to his attention about the forfeits rule that had been established near the start; that forfeits wouldn't count as full wins in the mind, only as a stat since these games were not played. This meant that GBAA finish in second place. Ricky, the humble person that he is, didn't feel comfortable with just taking the second like that, so he offered the option of SA playing them for the spot..... However, instead of being gracious of the offer, SA were out for blood. They demanded the second place, and were intent on ignoring a rule, which since it had been out had not been challenged - it wasn't until it effected them that they thought the rule was wrong. The argument began to grow and slowly there started to form a divide in the SMC; those who thought SA were being unfair to ignore a rule and benefit from it, and those who were on the side of SA, saying that forfeits count in other sports. This was not so much an argument as it was a one sided battle; SA captain and SMC commish didn't seem to want to consider anything other then going through without being challenged, and when more people started to say it was being irrational, just play the GBAA for it, or were they scared to play them, a ruling was made - scrap the forfeit role, give GBAA their deepest apologies and smile as they head into the upper playoffs, and that would be final, no arguments. This had made Ricky furious, as they had not considered the other team at all, when Ricky had done the right thing in offering them a chance when they had the advantage of just getting second. The SA kept just bringing the same argument up, and had their points picked apart by him. One of SA's members ended up saying they would rather GBAA take second if it would end the argument, to which Ricky was again frustrated, and said "GBAA doesn't want to take anything, as it doesn't solve the problem. If they earned second, that would be different..." Everyone started to think GBAA and SA should do a playoff for it, but these words were ignored. The argument was ended by Ricky and normality began to return, but SamTeague returned and had to have another stab at him.... The cool character that Ricky is told him to shut his mouth, not be stupid, and take it up with him in PM, as the thread had a warning put on it for the way it had been going. Rather then it being discussed though, the issue went unresolved, and faded away.... Phrase Book These are some phrases that have been used in the course of playing, some becoming well known, others a private joke. Flubba-Dubba-Dub - A private joke between clcraven, Ricky and luke, where in a game at 2am, luke made fun of raven and the two instantly began to say he sounded like one of the flowerpot men. Bye-u-ken!!! - This is a little joke between Raven and Ricky, where they were messing round 1 on 1 in grifball and just kept beating each other with the ball. The falcon-punch was too boring for these too, so they started saying random fight moves they could think of. Ryuken was created from Street Fighter; Ryu has a move called the Ha-do'u-ken' "The Joker Laugh" - This is not a phrase, it is the "crazy" laugh that Ricky gives off. Maaaah-zim-maaaay-yaaaaa! - a popular treat for those before a grifball game... Ricky's tribute to the start of The Lion King's, Circle of Life The Artist There have been a few things so far which Ricky has done, the two most well known so far are designing the old logo for GBAA which incorporated individual personalities into a simplified form in a stylish layout. The other is having his graphic for the UK Grifballers Competition being selected as their emblem, where Grif Sits reclined on the queens throne, sportning the crown jewels, and backed up by 2 grifball "Royal" guards, holding Union Jack on their hammers. This picture features in the title sequence of the UKAL08 Week 1 highlight video, commentated by the UK commish. Grifball Stats JSG *Played : 19 *Killed : 599 *Deaths : 423 *K/D Spree : 76 *Betrayals : 30 *Grabs : 63 *Scores : 12 *Carrier Kills : 54 Category:Player